In the field of Hazardous Materials Response it is common to be called to respond to abandoned or discarded drum sites to identify and dispose of their contents. Some of these drums become very dangerous to handle manually due to exposure to the elements, decomposition, age, pressure build-up inside the drum, or from possible contact with the contents of the drum.
Current technologies in the field offer few solutions to this problem. The most commonly used method of handling drums of this nature is to simply open them manually, either by use of a bung wrench to remove the bung from the drum, or by puncturing the drum with some type of hand held apparatus such as an axe or pick. Workers using these methods may expose themselves to released chemicals upon opening of the drums, or may be injured, dismembered, or killed due to an explosion of unstable chemicals inside the drum.
Another commonly practiced method is to attach a spike to the bucket of a back-hoe (a tractor with a bucket attached to the end of a mechanical arm, used for digging) and have the back-hoe operator puncture the drum with the spike. Back-hoes are very expensive and not designed to be used in this manner. The use of a Back-hoe for puncturing drums of this nature will almost certainly cause injury to the operator and damage to the back-hoe in the case of an eruption or explosion of the contents of the drum.
It is felt by many in the field of Hazardous Materials Response that a new method of operation is needed to handle the problem of not being able to remotely open drums which may contain hazardous materials.
Accordingly I claim the object of this invention: to provide a portable remotely operational drum opening device and method of operation that will provide a safe, simple, and inexpensive alternative to manually opening drums that may contain hazardous materials or by virtue of their physical condition may cause damage to person(s) or property upon opening.